Wall of separation between church and state

We have all heard the phrase “separation of church and state.” This phrase is not included in our Constitution, however the First Amendment states that, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” In our American history Thomas Jefferson's letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802, the original text reads: "... I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church & State." This has been used in Supreme Court cases dating back to 1878.

Why is this relevant in our current events? Because today there is a new battle between Church and State in the form of Obamacare vs. The Catholic Church. It is a requirement of Obamacare that every Catholic Institution larger than a single church MUST pay for “preventative health services” which means: contraceptives, sterilization, and morning after abortifacients for its employees. The issue at hand is that all of these are in direct contradiction to the Catholic faith. To quell the uproar at the time of this information being released there was a question on interpretation of the wording of the law. The term “preventative health services” was open for interpretation. As I outlined in the requirements above we now know exactly what it meant and of course so now does the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church was still holding out hope on the final definition of the law when the President told them that when the final version of the law was release, all fears would be allayed. To their dismay, all that was changed was the deadline for their conformity being delayed until August 2013.

As Obama’s approval rating has been climbing, job creation steadily increasing and the economy improving this will be an interesting issue to watch as the election nears. Of course without mentioning it at the summary of my last paragraph, I’m sure you all chuckled at the new delay date issued. Not any political implications being address here right? In my opinion Obama has done several positive things while in office: Dodd-Frank; Affordable Care Act; Repeal of Don’t ask Don’t tell;  Osama bin Laden and countless other terrorist figureheads-dead; 85% or TARP paid back; Tax cuts extended; Withdrawal from Iraq; stock market recovery.  The timing of this conflict with the Catholic Church is quite interesting and not the best for Obama. The President must and will have to address this thoroughly as he vies for re-election.